My problem Aussie... **Funny update #31**or: $400 on vet bills in the past month...

[Parker_Rider]

So while Gatsby has been getting over his fear of people issue, he has developed a progressive limp in his hind right leg. It started ~Feb. 17 when he woke up from a nap and started hobbling around on three legs. I freaked because he was perfectly fine 45 minutes beforehand, called the vet and got him in the next morning. He woke up the next day and was prancing around, not a hint of lameness. So he went into the vet, has good range of motion in all the joints, displays no signs of discomfort. She gives me 7 days worth of anti-inflammatory drugs and makes me laugh by telling me to "restrict his movement." (this becomes easier when his half brother slashes his head open a day later and gets three staples in his head and has to be inside too...)

So as the weeks drag on, every day Gatsby wakes up in the morning and is perfectly fine. As the day progresses, he starts to limp around 2-3 and then by 8 or 9, he's 3 legged. And we wake up and do it all again. No sign of pain, no heat, no swelling. So back to the vet we go. They x-ray his knee and hip and the pictures are perfect. Good range of motion in all joints, no signs of discomfort when she's examining him. The vet says that she plays with his leg and Gats looks at her "Dude, what are you doing?" So she tells me to "Restrict his movement" once again. A lot of you have Aussies... yeah, right, like that's going to happen! I can stick him inside all day and he'll still tear around the house...

Anyone have any ideas at all as to what this could possibly be? I've inspected his paws, I've done my own thorough exam of "what's hurting you?" because he sits still for me and is more relaxed and still, no reaction. nothing. nada. anywhere! What else can I do besides take him immediately to a canine orthopedist? Any ideas?

[Simkie]

My first thought is a tick-born disease. They can cause odd, rotating lameness that spontaneously resolves and then comes back.

Have you run any bloodwork?

[MunchkinsMom]

The only thing that comes to mind is a soft tissue injury, strain or sprain or the start of a ligament tear, which would not show up on x-rays.

I feel you pain on the restricted exercise deal, I have two half Aussies, and they only have two speeds - fast, or sleeping. Perhaps you need to gate him into a small room or keep him on leash in the house to restrict his exercise so it can heal.

[Go Fish]

The only thing that comes to mind is a soft tissue injury, strain or sprain or the start of a ligament tear, which would not show up on x-rays.

I feel you pain on the restricted exercise deal, I have two half Aussies, and they only have two speeds - fast, or sleeping. Perhaps you need to gate him into a small room or keep him on leash in the house to restrict his exercise so it can heal.

I would agree with this. My Corgi dog does this sometimes after a walk at the dog park chasing the ball for hours. Kennel the dog if you have to...complete rest, no running, no jumping, nothing. Like you, I've spent hundreds trying to track what's wrong, and it was really this simple. Little bugger...

[Holly Jeanne]

The suggestions on what might be wrong are good ones and I don't really have anything to add.

I had an 8 month old Aussie puppy get injured once. Ended up having to crate her for about 7 weeks. I took her out to potty by hand multiple times a day. Provided some chew toys in the crate. Of course, she wasn't full grown and it was a large crate but it still wasn't fun for either of us. She healed completely and is a normal almost 9 yo dog now but still doesn't like the crate (and rarely has to go in it). Incidently, she broke her toe when her sister knocked her down. I took her to one vet who said it was a break in the growth plate and she would always be uneven. I went to a doggie ortho specialist who declared it her toe. :lol: It was frustrating because vets and other people kept saying "I don't see how that could have happened" and I kept saying "Well it did. I don't beat them really!"

[Blinkers On]

Oh boy! I feel this!
I have 2 dogs and we have had 5 surgeries since the beginning of November. One dog, the younger one, had four. 3 on a hind leg one tooth extraction in the last 10 days or so.
So, I have learned that when they say restrict activity it is wise to do so! The young dog was given ace a lot of ace and narcotics of course to keep her quite quiet. But she is a Pitt and she really doesn't know slow for extended periods of time either. I really didn't want to crate her, but after the second surgery it was clear I had to do something to limit her activities in a big way! So I chatted with a friend that breed Dobies and she suggested an ex pen. The absolute best idea anyone could have offered me! They are not terribly expensive. They can be as much space or as little space as you like. She actually learned to love the thing! Even now with that hind leg getting stronger and better, I leave the pen up so she can go to her "happy place" whenever she wants. It is her own personal spot that no one else goes in. I was actually surprised that she just started randomly going in and sleeping there after she was allowed to do a little bit more than being confined.
It is a very useful thing! I am so glad I was pointed in the right direction on this. They come quite tall too!
Believe me small animal vet bills add up so quickly sometimes faster than the horse:eek:
Good luck!

[jacksmom]

lyme.

my aussie had an odd lameness and whoa and behold, he titred positive for lyme disease. a 30 day course of antibiotics (don't remember which) cleared it right up - the limping was gone within a week.

[tradewind]

It may be "long bones disease" which affects the faster growing breeds during times of rapid growth. It is notorious in GSD's. It is an inflammation fo the lining of the bones, to put it in laymans terms.The treatment usually consists of rest, anti inflammatories and vitamin C..they usually outgrow it, but rest is needed. You might want to talk to your vet about whether or not Aussies are an affected breed. You might also discuss the use of benadryl to take the edge off of your dog since he needs to be quieter right now.

[BasqueMom]

Might also have a animal chiro check him out.

[cloudyandcallie]

Are you sure it is not hip dysplasia? It is the bane of some breeds, including aussies. Did the parents of your dog have their hips certified?

I'd have a vet who is familiar with hip dysplasia do the radiographs.

[Samantha37]

Or it could be a luxating patella.
My dog (maybe a Border Collie/Pit mix- who knows) was fine, extremely active, until one day he was 3 legged lame. Of course, I rushed him to the vet and they took radiographs of his knees- he has both knees luxating, but at that point his growth plates weren't closed, either (extremely weird since he wasn't a baby). About seven months later, he was really lame again and I was working for a vet's clinic and I brought him in and they did radiographs again and only the R knee was still luxating. I keep him on glucosamine- the surgery is so far out of my price range. And he is very happy. Very active, and only has bad days when he does too much.
I can always tell when he was been doing too much running/jumping because he will be really gimpy that night.

MTA: didn't see that you had done rads of his knees/hips- sorry! How good is your vet at diagnostics and lamenesses? Have they pulled bloodwork? Agree w/ the above posters about running a Lymes titer. My vet that I worked for is really good at lamenesses... he pointed out all of these things my dog does to keep the leg stabilized.

[Parker_Rider]

Oh man, it's lookin' like a bit of crate time is in Gatsby's future... oh no!! Where do you get the ex-pens - I think I know what you're talking about, Blinkers On, but am not sure. I think I'm going to take him in for a consultation with an orthopedist this week, just to see if it could be the hip dysplasia or even the luxating patella. When I signed the estimate sheet for x-rays, they were going to charge me for blood work to be run, but never did (or at least I'm assuming because that $100 charge wasn't on the recepit!) which I thought was weird. I'll see if they at least took blood in order to run it.
I thought it was a soft tissue sprain at first too, but just the odd nature of this injury has me perplexed. Thanks for all the suggestions so far!! Keep 'em coming... I'm willing to believe it's anything at this point! ;)

ETA: Samantha - My vet is.. eh... a nice person. We're in the process of switching vets because of an incident that happened when I took Gatsby in for his x-rays (not with Gats, but another dog) that just disgusted me. So far they've only been focused on bone issues with no mention of possible soft tissue or anything involving ticks or internal (other than bone!) issues. We're in CO so we don't have a lot of ticks, but they're here, and knowing Gatsby, he would be the dog to come down with something atypical. So a lack of creativity and deductive skills and tunnel vision on the part of my vet is really frustrating. Hence the specialist this week... haha

[Blinkers On]

I would say the same, luxating Patella or cruciate ligament tear. BUT a vet examining the hind limbs would have to check for drawer or a patella that has laxity, wouldn't they?
I (silly me) would tend to assume so.
There are so many uggestions here that are good and interesting. I would seriously consider spending a little more time and money and getting an actual diagnosis.

[JenRose]

My lab mix was also sporadically lame. I took her to the vet during one of her episodes & learned she has hip displasia. Started her on a glucosamine & chondroitin supplement and all is wonderful again.

My aunt's lab suffered similar symptoms but had a cruciate ligament tear. He had surgery and is much better.

I am a firm believer of x-pens (Tractor Supply sells them). I frequently foster dogs from our local shelter that are going through medical issues. They are either in the xpen or crate or on a leash attached to me. I just clip the leash on my beltloop with one of those carabiner thingies and away we go to do laundry, dishes, etc. :winkgrin:

I hope Gatsby gets to feeling better very soon. I would definitely get a second opinion or see a specialist.

[Cielo Azure]

I would say the same, luxating Patella or cruciate ligament tear. BUT a vet examining the hind limbs would have to check for drawer or a patella that has laxity, wouldn't they?
I (silly me) would tend to assume so.
There are so many uggestions here that are good and interesting. I would seriously consider spending a little more time and money and getting an actual diagnosis.

I might and I might not...

ACL: I just went through this, after $200 spent and not a radiograph until I take her to the specialist 2 hours away. Then my vet said that the new, improved and more invasive sx (which she recommends even for a tear is $3000.). I am still not sure it is an ACL tear because her limp isn't that bad and it is on and off.

I thought about it and thought. Shoot. I need new contacts, my son's teeth need work, my teeth need work and my insurance in catsatrophic, so I have put off all sorts of stuff for us humans. If I needed a $3000.SX to stop an on and off limp on myself, I probably wouldn't do it but here I am considering it for my dog?!?!? What is wrong with me!

I did it for another dog when it was $1400. She always had a limp after that.

Dogs can live with a limp and with crate rest, an ACL tear usually gets better. So, I sat back and stopped. My dog's limp, after a month is greatly improved. I have her on joint health stuff and she is now (age 7) on house rest. Yep. She will probably have arthritis but so do I from all my broken toe bones that were never taken care of.

If you really don't have the money to spend on sx, make sure you want to spend $200 on the work up and $100 on radiographs. It is all money and it goes quick. You might consider just anti-inflammatories and joint (gluc/Chon/etc) meds.

I have to be smart with my money and sometimes that means my dog doesn't get treated better than us humans in this household!

The problem I have with getting a diagnosis is that it isn't a LITTLE money but a lot of money and the vet will do the ole guilt trip on me. I guess I have gotten leary of small animal vets, as I have had one too many try to push chemo on me for an old cat or (in the case of my desceased corgi), ACL SX for an old dog (which I did do and it was a stupid decision).

But I just read that you are taking him to a specialist! Good luck, and let us know!

[Blinkers On]

Petsmart has the ex pens as well.

Cielo I get the surgery cost thing a little too well. One tooth extraction cost $900+ last week. That was a cheap surgery for my kids.
For a while I wondered if I would do it again if I had it all to do over. I likely would. Crazy expenses and all!
I think if I were looking at a decision regarding the cruciate I would still hesitate and try a lengthy period of confinement first. For some reason TPLO bothers me alot!

[Benson]

We've had two with the exact symptoms and it has been lyme disease both times.

[Chall]

I had to look up exercise pens. I get it, its a doggy ROUND PEN

[BasqueMom]

Check out Craigslist for the pens..they are often much cheaper. I've got one in my
garage still in the box for a puppy I was fostering and never used. Wish you were closer...

I don't what part of Denver you live in, but there is a wonderful clinic called Alameda East,
I think. They were/are featured for years on Animal Planet's Emergency Vet show. Another
thought is a trip to CSU where the vet school is located.

But the blood test sounds like a good idea--my Basque was diagnosed with EPM in
1998 when we lived outside of Denver and it was almost unheard of in the area at the time.
Sigh!

[Simkie]

I would really not recommend CSU for large OR small animal. The quality of care there has seriously declined in the past five or so years.

I do have an excellent vet at VCA in north Loveland for complex issues, but she is quite costly. My regular vet in Fort Collins is also very, very good, but does not have the diagnostics available at VCA.

OP, if you would like the number to either vet, please let me know.

[Meadow36]

Some of the things listed above should've been detected by your vet on physical exam and x-rays. Of course not every vet is created equal :) so the specialist would be the best way to go to get a definitive diagnosis.

IME, a cruciate tear would not come and go. She would be limping pretty much all the time and might even become non-weight bearing after a certain point.

If it truly is just a soft tissue injury, then it is IMPERATIVE that you crate her!! It will not heal if she is jumping around on it. You can ask your vet for some tranquilizers if she is going totally bonkers.

[hotspot]

something else for the mix... not sure if it is CO or not. My Bedlington came down with Valley Fever- a fungus- when I was in AZ. Mild, intermittent lameness to three legged lame and then fine. It can be in different organs, the spine, long bones. Avery's seemed to be in his elbow. 90 days Ketaconazole, he was fine. Diagnosed with bloodwork.

[Parker_Rider]

Ok. So here's the new twist in the story. The vet looking at my dog is a part time vet at this particular clinic. So she told me that the specialist at the other clinic she works at is running a special - a free appt with the specialist! Normally you need a coupon, but since she had talked to him about Gatsby, I just had to tell this vet that she had talked to him and it was the same dog. Awesome! Well, I couldn't take his phone number as I was in the car, so she should talk to my mom when she comes in for our other dog's appt. I asked my mom for the number yesterday and she had NO idea what I was talking about. Apparently this vet had downplayed it in front of the receptionists at that particular vet and didn't give her any details.

Alright, that's cool, I'll just call our vet and get the other clinic's name where this vet works. Um, they wouldn't tell me. "Oh no, we don't have any other contact information for that doctor.." BULL!! So I looked on Google for this vet and no info. ? wtf is going on! I feel like I'm on a veterinarian soap opera! So at this point, maybe not a specialist, but I am immediately switching vets (this is way too creepy) and getting a 2nd opinion. I learned the hard way with my horse that just because "DVM" is after someone's name, it doesn't make them competent in their field, and that I should find someone who is good at their job immediately. I have been ranting about this "shameless money grubbing clinic" for a week and now I've absolutely had it. If money comes before the care of my dog, well, then... that's it. (they wanted me to make an appointment - $40 office fee - for a week from now just to ask the vet a simple question!!!)

I'm definitely going to be bringing up all of the options you all suggested and *demanding!* (haha) bloodwork. I'm mad that the other vet didn't run it even after I ok'ed it on the x-ray estimate!

And he will be crated :( sad puppy! I'm also going to pick him up a glucosamine supplement today. ohhh drama drama drama!! Thank you SO SO SO much for all of your wonderful COTH, DVM help ;) I'll keep you updated on what it turns out to be.

[wendy]

a cruciate in the process of tearing could indeed come and go. My aussie mix limped off and on for eight months, undiagnosed, before it finally totally went and she became totally three-legged-lame. The vet told me they can't tell if it's gradually disintegrating without a very $$$$ MRI because the usual "drawer sign" test doesn't work unless the tear is complete or almost complete.
Is it always the same leg the dog is limping on? I didn't catch how old the dog is, if 8 months old or so it could just be pano or growing pains.

[Cielo Azure]

a cruciate in the process of tearing could indeed come and go. My aussie mix limped off and on for eight months, undiagnosed, before it finally totally went and she became totally three-legged-lame. The vet told me they can't tell if it's gradually disintegrating without a very $$$$ MRI because the usual "drawer sign" test doesn't work unless the tear is complete or almost complete.
Is it always the same leg the dog is limping on? I didn't catch how old the dog is, if 8 months old or so it could just be pano or growing pains.

Thanks, I was going to write that.

There is a lot of evidence that partial tears can heal (ligaments do heal but they require months and months to do so: translated into months of crate rest). There is a web site out there that describes the regime but I can't find it. Funny, lots of dog owners with stories of dogs healing and lots of vets writing that they won't heal by themselves...hmmm. Keep the weight down on those dogs!

Putting your dog on NSAID drugs and a broad spectrum Ab should have been included in the prelim to or in conjunction with, any major work up. If it is an abcess in the toe or a soft tissue issue, these drugs would work to clear it up.
hint:
http://www.vetinfo.com/daspirin.html
and
SMZ
BUT call your vet first and ask his/her advice on these drugs or like drugs (you know to start the meds before that "appt" with the specialist). Your general Vet should have better NSAID and Ab but you probably have these two kicking around.

[LabsChewShoes]

My Aussie started doing this same thing around the age of 2. He is very active, at the barn with me, checking stalls, jumping to Look in stalls to see why banging. chasing balls. go to the house hw lays down gets up, will even whine when stands occassionally, or if you touch him in just the spot. for 2 years he had every xray blood test everything done, with no results. even took him to the university, on days he did not do much, no issue, as he got to age 5 and older, somedays a lot more pronounced. so we went through all again, turns out, my dog is a wimp. he has a apot, so small it is just now showing, at age 8, of arthritis about the size of a eraser head. we keep him on joint lubricants, glucosamine, chondratin, bee pollen, etc. i know he hurts, he tells us, but he does not slow down, I am now making him, which he HATEs, no ball chasing, no stall jumping, etc. so...that was what my dog's years of vet bills turned out to be.

[mandalea]

I got my mum to read this, and she said possibly Hip Dysplasia/arthritis - depending on how old he is.

HD can be any age, arthritis I would thing over 10..

I'd go get him check out for that, because if it is, you'll have to watch that he doesn't seriously hurt himself..

[Rhyadawn]

Poor Gatsby!

glucosomine to lubricate the joints is a good idea. I would second the bloodtest for lyme and also other issues.

Does he have any soreness on palpation? (watch closely, aussies are good at hiding pain) Can you distract all the joints? Any oddness with that? How about feeling in around the ribs?

[Blu]

Just because the receptionist doesn't know the contact info doesn't mean the DVM is an idiot. This is just something I have personally experienced. Sometimes there is a lack of communication between the "Front" staff and the "back" staff. Many times I have had to soothe clients after they became frustrated running around with the receptionists. When they finally got to a "back" person or a DVM for whatever reason it usually turned out that it was a miscommunication, or something that the front girls thought would be a big deal that really wasn't. Remember, most of the time the front staff is NOT medically trained (not in depth at least) and things are lost in translation. Especially things that are not something they deal with on a daily basis. Your DVM tried to give you the info while driving in the car so its not like she didn't try to get you connected with the other vet?

I would recommend leaving a message for the DVM to call you back so you can get the correct number. Especially if shes already spoken to the specialist and he's expecting a call from you.

If you can't get in touch, try going here http://www.colovma.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=83 and searching for the specialist. Likely, from the way you've explained it, the specialist is not a regular DVM at a practice and may do exams/surgeries on a contract basis in different clinics (we have used one in the past who was awesome, now he's in only one clinic) but they ought to have a numbe rlisted through COVMA.

Sometimes you have to let the vet go through the progression of diagnosing and not expect them to throw everything at an on and off lame dog all at once. It is a process and a science and sometimes things that seem so darn obvious on a bulletin board are not always practical as your first line of diagnostics. When you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras. It *is* reasonable for her to go through what is most likely for your region and your dog's signalment prior to going for the abnormal.

That said it sounds like a cranial cruciate, which would not show up on radiographs. Ask if she looked for a cranial drawer sign *while* he was sedated (these are not always evident when they are not at least slightly sedated do to muscle tension/resistance).

[Twiliath]

Cruciate ligament tears do not just go away. With proper rest - no play, roughhousing, ball chasing, etc., you can rehab an ACL tear. If you don't deal with a tear properly, it will likely eventually tear all the way. Then while you're trying (belatedly) to deal with that full tear, the other leg will be overcompensating and it will eventually tear also.

Lyme is a possibility, so is Anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (rare).

Another possibility is an ilio-psoas strain. Most vets, unless they are rehab specialists, do not know how to check for this. With the dog lying down, extend the hind leg fully, slightly abduct it (pull away from the body) and rotate inward. You can also palpate the ilio psoas if you know where to look. It's up in the groin area, very high. These strains are missed quite often by regular vets.

The cranial drawer test when done by an experienced person can be graded from 1-5. It cannot tell you that there is a tear, but it can tell you if it's too loose. Reaction from the dog will tell you if there's pain.

Luxating patellas are usually an on/off thing: Now it's luxated, now it's not. It doesn't usually follow the pattern the OP describes.

Go to http://www.veterinaryrehabreferral.com/ to find a referral vet in your area.

I work for a vet who specializes in rehab with chiropractic and acupuncture, along with homeopathy and Chinese herbs.

If you want to rehab your dog without surgery, do NOT crate rest for an extended period of time. If you do do surgery, do not listen to the surgeon and do 8 weeks of crate rest. Get into rehab as soon as possible (within the first two weeks of surgery) to learn about the exercises and stretches you need to do.

Also do swimming or underwater treadmill work. The swimming only if your dog will actually use his hind legs in swimming; some don't.

There are several DVDs out there for strengthening and stretching your dog. A couple are "Get on the Ball" by Debby Gross-Saunders and the other is "Building the Canine Athlete" by Chris Zink. Both can be obtained at Clean Run (www.cleanrun.com).

One way to test you dog is to do a 3-leg stand: have him standing facing someone else who is scratching his head. Pick up a hind leg and flip the foot back so that he cannot cheat by using you as his leg. He should be able to stand on his good leg at least 25 seconds. Try the other leg, forcing him to stand on his lame leg. Do not let him lean into the other person or on your hand. Wiggle the foot of the good leg around so that he cannot cheat.

When walking him on leash, make sure you are going slowly enough that he has to use the lame leg. If you trot or go too fast, he'll cheat. He's got 3 good legs after all!

He may need to be on pain meds enough to exercise him and so he'll use the bad leg. But still keep his exercise under strict supervision. Aussies are notorious rough-playing dogs.

Watch him carefully at a sit and a stand. If you've got a good eye from checking horses for lameness, this comes in handy with dogs. Check to see if he's weighting the lame leg at a stand or a sit.

Ilio psoas strains happen from tight turns, either just one bad one or several smaller ones with cumulative microstrains.

Good luck to you.

[Parker_Rider]

So we're giving him 2 weeks on glucosamine and restricted activity to see if it helps any.. and to let my bank account replete itself before taking Gats to a new vet. So in the meantime, I've taken some posters' advice and have been palpating and evaluating his lameness. I have determined that the weakness is in his knee (maybe one day I'll get video up here for other opinions), but I'm 99% sure of this.

So I'm doing what Twiliath suggested.. making him stand on each back foot, poking and prodding and pulling and pushing that back right leg. After he tolerates all this (which he does while his tongue is lolling out and he's just enjoying the attention... haha), I decide to just feel around in that joint.

Dear BF is watching all of this, and I'm poking everywhere on that joint, going by a skeletal/ligature picture online (very sophisticated...). Gatsby's eyes are half closed, head sinking lower and lower as this goes on; thoroughly enjoying himself. Well, like Twiliath said, maybe it's an ilio-psoas strain... hell if I know what that is, but let's see if his pain is further up. As my hand gets higher in the joint still poking around and Gatsby looks as if he could die happy, my BF starts adding commentary "Oh, oh yeah, right there.. a little to the left... little to the left!... oh that's good.. where's my cigarette?" (I'm on his right leg, so use your imaginations...) Well. that effectively ended "Dr. P_R: Vet Medicine" right there...

Ugh. Boys. :lol:
But the good news is that Gatsby enjoyed his, er, "feel up" and didn't display any pain. Ugh. I don't know what to do with this dog, but I thought this was too funny a story not to share :)

[Twiliath]

If you're sure it's the knee, some possibilities include: ACL tear, luxating patella, or a meniscal tear.

Considering his breed, I doubt it's a luxating patella.

Have you had x-rays yet?

Any effusion (swelling) on the knee?

Tightly flex the knee - try to bend the hock all the way to the point of the buttock. You should be able to do this unless the knee is the problem.

If you're in need of a rehab vet, try this website also: www.rehabvets.org.

Good luck to you.

[Twiliath]

a cruciate in the process of tearing could indeed come and go. My aussie mix limped off and on for eight months, undiagnosed, before it finally totally went and she became totally three-legged-lame. The vet told me they can't tell if it's gradually disintegrating without a very $$$$ MRI because the usual "drawer sign" test doesn't work unless the tear is complete or almost complete.
Is it always the same leg the dog is limping on? I didn't catch how old the dog is, if 8 months old or so it could just be pano or growing pains.

Wendy, you need a new vet. The cranial drawer test on the knee is quite indicative of a cruciate tear. But you have to know what you're doing. I'd say that your vet doesn't know what s/he's doing!

[rothmpp]

Cruciate ligament tears do not just go away. With proper rest - no play, roughhousing, ball chasing, etc., you can rehab an ACL tear. If you don't deal with a tear properly, it will likely eventually tear all the way. Then while you're trying (belatedly) to deal with that full tear, the other leg will be overcompensating and it will eventually tear also.



Agree 100% with this. Ask my bank account about how I know. I held off forever on doing surgery on the first ACL for my Rottie since the tests were inconclusive. Ortho vet that did the surgery told me that he sees 75%+ of dogs back within 18 months for a tear on the other side when repairing a full tear. My dog was almost 18 months to the day for the second surgery.

To the OP - my dog actually went the other way - he would wake up in the morning or in the afternoon when I got home three legged but would work his way out of it as things loosened up.

[Twiliath]

The rehab vet I work for recently had a new patient come in. The dog (lab mix) had been limping for months with no real diagnosis. As it turns out, the dog had a complete ACL tear which then atrophied into nothingness. It's too bloody bad for that poor dog that the vet seeing it limp couldn't figure out what the problem was. And it's not that hard.

Remember - don't let the vet tell you it's arthritis without x-rays. You can't diagnose arthritis without x-rays.